Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a pan that you can also transfer to the oven. Add onions, jalapenos and green pepper about 5-7 minutes. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add tomatillos and reduce heat to medium. Season with salt and cumin. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes until tomatillos are just cooked through.

Take the pan off the heat and add the tequila. Return to heat and reduce slightly. Nestle the shrimp and sprinkle the cheese on top. Transfer the pan to the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and mix in cilantro, lime juice and pepper. Serve over rice or in tortillas.

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I love the ridiculously buttery shrimp scampi that you get out at restaurants.

I don’t often order it though, because shrimp scampi is a super simple meal that I can make at home and it doesn’t take any time at all. Also, I’m 92% positive that this shrimp scampi is way healthier than any I would order out–even with the beer! And I added broccoli too! Something green!

So who said anyways that shrimp scampi always needs to be made with wine? It ain’t so! Many different beers work with the light flavors in shrimp scampi: a pale ale, a lovely hefeweizen, or a saison would be wonderful. And as much as I love cooking with wine, we’re not the biggest white wine drinkers. We’re big, bold, dry, red people in this house. So the chances of me having a beer that works with the flavor profiles of the dish, and finishing that beer once I’m done cooking with it are much more likely.

If only some parsley had been ready to harvest from my Simon & Garfunkel garden…

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the package directions. Either throw in the broccoli for the last couple minutes of cooking time, or steam above the cooking pasta in a steaming basket. Reserve some of the cooking liquid.

In a large skillet, heat the oil and butter together over medium high heat. Saute the garlic and red pepper flake for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then add the shrimp. Add the beer and stir. Increase the heat to high and let the mixture boil for 2 minutes. Turn the shrimp over and continue to cook on the highest setting until the shrimp are perfectly pink. Turn the heat off and mix in the lemon juice, salt and pepper. Add the cooked pasta and broccoli into the skillet and toss altogether. Add the reserved cooking liquid and/or more beer if you need to create more sauce.

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I’ve inundated you with desserts lately, so it’s about time for something a little different. How about some Old Bay Beer Battered Fish and Chips? It may not be the healthiest entree, but at least it’s not a dessert, right?

Since moving to the DMV–that’s the DC-Maryland-Virginia area for those who are not in the know–I’ve become a fan of Old Bay. I’d had Old Bay before, of course. But here, it’s part of life. It’s a way of life. Ubiquitous in any seafood dish, it also finds its way onto chicken, tater tots, fries, onion rings, cocktails…It was developed here in Maryland, and needless to say, people are loyal. And with good reason. Delicious reason.

So I decided when creating my fish and chips recipe that it would adhere to my adopted home’s favorite flavor. Old Bay is both in the batter and then sprinkled on to taste after: pretty much at every point in the recipe, add Old Bay. Same with the chips: roasted with olive oil and Old Bay, then plenty at the table to sprinkle on at will. Oh, and there’s beer, so you know it’s good.

Preference tip: I like to cut my fish into smaller pieces. Not only are they easier to handle when frying,, but then you get more of that crispy batter to go around. Yum.

Old Bay Beer Battered Fish and Chips with Lagered Mushy Peas

Fish adapted from a ridiculous amount of recipes I couldn’t even keep track of or tell you. Chips adapted from Ellie Krieger. Mushy peas adapted from Jamie Oliver.

Chips

2-4 russet potatoes

olive oil

Old Bay

Fish

vegetable oil

2 cups flour

3 teaspoons Old Bay, plus more for seasoning and table

1 12 oz. bottle beer

1 1/2 lbs cod (or similar fish), boneless and skinless

Mushy Peas

olive oil

4 scallions

16 oz. frozen peas

1/4 cup beer

Chips

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Use a mandoline to thinly slice potatoes. Toss potatoes, olive oil and Old Bay together on a baking sheet. Roast for 30 minutes. Alternately, you can slice up the potatoes in whatever shape you prefer and roast for 45-50 minutes.

Fish

Depending upon the size of pan you are using, the amount of oil you will need to fry the fish could vary. Heat enough vegetable oil over medium-high heat to cover the fish in the pan that you are using. The oil is ready for frying when the handle of a wooden spoon inserted into the oil produced tiny bubbles.

In a shallow dish combine 1/2 cup flour and 1 teaspoon Old Bay and set aside. Aerate 1 1/2 cups flour and 2 teaspoons Old Bay in a large bowl (whisk by itself-essentially the same as sifting). Whisk in the beer until just combined. Pat the fish dry and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Old Bay. Dredge the fish in the flour mixture and shake off any excess. Coat the fish in the beer mixture and once again shake off any excess. Place gently in the hot oil. The same can be done with a few more pieces of fish. Do not overcrowd the pan though, because the oil’s temperature will drop too much.

Once the fish is golden brown all over, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels or a clean dish towel. Immediately season with salt, pepper and Old Bay. Continue with the remaining fish in batches.

Lagered Mushy Peas

Heat a small amount of oil in a pan, chop the scallions and add to the pan when oil is hot. Add the frozen peas and cover. Let the peas steam for a few minutes. Add beer and let cook for a minute more and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a food processor, use an immersion blender, or mash the peas with a potato masher. You can always add more beer if needed.